Glimpses Of Forgotten Dreams
by Alex Foster
Summary: In the wake of his return from Koholint, Link must make one last journey to say good bye to the woman he left behind.


Title: Glimpses Of Forgotten Dreams

Author: Alex Foster

Author's email: AF451@worldnet.att.net

Category: Drama

Spoilers: Slight spoiler of the ending to _Link's Awakening_ and implied relationship between Link and Marin.

Ratings: PG

Summary: In the wake of his return from Koholint, Link must make one last journey to say good bye to the woman he left behind.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Nintendo. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: The title of this story comes from a quote by Alfred Tennyson: 'like glimpses of forgotten dreams'. I must give a thank you to the gang on the message board at htloz.com. They were kind enough to let me use their board when I was in need. Also, I used some of the characters from my other Zelda fic, _Darkness Rising_, this is in no way a sequel or a prequel. I used those characters because they were familiar and easy for me to write in a story that was not so easy. You don't have to have read _Darkness_ to follow this.

~

__

Link hesitated for a moment, then stepped onto the beach. He walked toward the woman standing at the shore. He couldn't see her face but already knew the expression it held. The same look she always had when staring at the ocean; longing for something greater than what was.

He came to a stop next to her. "I found the drum," he said without preamble.

She didn't look at him. "I knew you would."

He studied her profile. How could he say good-bye?

"Walk with me, Marin," he said softly.

With a hand on her back, he led her down the beach.

"I have something to tell you--"

"Link," she interrupted, "you don't have to tell me. I know."

He just nodded in reply and kept pace with her.

"Do you like roses?" she asked after a while.

Link smiled slightly. "I have nothing against them."

Waves crashed over the moon lit beach washing over Link's boots and over Marin's bare feet.

"I like pink the best."

"Really?"

"What's your favorite?"

He shook his head. "I really don't have one. All the colors are nice."

"But you must find one more pleasant than all the others," she insisted.

He watched the moonlight dance over the ocean for a long moment before answering. "Where I come from," he said finally, "the nobles—the higher class—wear certain flowers at parties to convey unspoken messages to one another. It's called the Language of Roses."

"Why don't they just say what they want to say?"

"I don't know," he said. "Some people are just like that."

Marin wrapped her arms around herself and considered this. "What do the flowers mean?"

Link cleared his throat and tried to remember what Zelda had taught him. "Well, if a young lady were to wear a red rose, that would mean 'I love you' or 'My love'. She would send a message of shared love to whomever her escort was." He chuckled. "Or she might be sending that message to one of the guests of the event."

She glanced at him in surprise. "What about pink?"

"Pink." He searched his memory. "Ah, that means 'I'm happy' or 'Please believe me'. If a man were to give a pink rose to a woman he was courting, that would signify his honesty of intent."

"It's sounds so confusing," she said with a shake of her head.

"So is the world," Link said.

"What about the rest?"

"Yellow means, 'I care' or 'I'll remember you'. Purple means 'Forgive me'. White means 'Pure' or 'To keep a secret'." He thought for a moment. "What other colors are there?" 

"Peach," offered Marin.

"That meaning I should have especially remembered," he said. "If a man or a woman presents a peach colored rose to one another, that means 'Let's meet later'." He smiled. "I once knew this young lady whose father wouldn't let her have any peach colored flowers in her garden for fear of young suitors."

She glanced pointedly at him. "What was her name?"

Link shook his head. "Just someone I knew once."

She nodded and letting silence fall over them. They stood at peace watching the waves roll in.

"I had better walk you back to the village," Link said finally, feeling the weight once more of what he had to do the next day. "I have quite the hike up Tamaranch in the morning."

"Will you really play my song?"

"Yeah," he said glancing down. "I will."

"I hope you get what you wish for."

"Thank you," he said, laying a hand on the small of her back. "Let's get you home."

"Wait," she said, stopping him. "Can't we stay a little longer?"

"Marin, I don't think this is—"

She touched his arm. "Shh. Just this once? For the sake of memories." She let her hand slide up past his shoulder and to his face. Her hand was cold against his cheek.

In the moonlight, he could just make out wetness that had pooled in her eyes. He reached up and removed her hand from his cheek. "Maybe a little while wouldn't hurt."

~

Behind him, there was a rustle of fabric followed by the soft click of a door being shut.

Link didn't turn, just paused for the briefest of heartbeats then resumed tying his bundle. He didn't have to turn, he knew who was standing there. He knew why.

"You could have told me," she said in the faintest of whispers.

Link gazed down at the neatly wrapped folds of silk on the bed. "I could have," he agreed in the same pitch.

"Why didn't you?"

Now he turned. Zelda stood with her back against the wooden door, she was clad in a white robe loosely knotted at the waist. Her hair lay in disarray and dark circles ringed her eyes. Her face spoke of being tired but her posture screamed otherwise.

"I'll be back by tomorrow," he said, hoping to convince her to go back to bed. "There was no need to worry you."

Her gaze flicked to the bundle on the bed then back to him. "You've planned this. You knew when we talked earlier, you could have told me then."

"And would you have any worried less?" he asked, meeting her hurt filled gaze fearlessly. "Would you have understood any more?"

She stared at him, blinking. "No. I don't understand this now and I wouldn't have then. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have told me." She took a step toward him. "What were you going to do leave me a note to find in the morning? Maybe have crept into my room and left it on my pillow so it would be the first thing I see? Would that have hurt any less?"

Link glanced at the ground. "I suppose not. I know I should have told you."

Her eyes glistened. "Why didn't you?"

"Because...I didn't want you talking me out of it. If anyone could, it would be you. I'm tired of people telling me what I'm not yet recovered enough to do. I know what I can do and not do. And I can do this."

Zelda let out a long breath. "Are you sure? The healers said that—"

"Light, Zelda!" Link protested. "The healers don't know anything about me, they just know what they think is best for me, not what really is."

She nodded slowly. "All right. Tomorrow we'll plan the trip. You and I will—"

"I have to go alone," Link said quickly, cutting her off. "And tonight. I'm sorry, Zelda, but this is something I have to remember alone."

She reached out tentatively and placed her hand on his arm. "You don't have to remember it alone. I may not fully understand, but I can try to."

Link covered her hand with his. "I know you can. I know you would, but I need to say good-bye this way. I can't say why, but I know that I do just as firmly as I know that I can make this trip."

He turned away from her and walked to the small hearth that heated the room. Hanging on the wall above it was a sword. A fine layer of dust covered it; he had not allowed the cleaning staff to touch it. He had been the one to place it on the wall and he would be the one to take it down.

Link reached up and wrapped his hand around the hilt. It was slightly smaller than the Master Sword and lacked the feeling of correctness in his hand, but it was still familiar. Engraved in gilded letters above the crossguard was his name.

He smiled at the memory of receiving the gift.

~

__

He had just finished securing the sails of his newly purchased ship when he saw her.

"Permission to come aboard?" Zelda asked.

He smiled. "Of course." He walked to the gangplank and offered a hand to help her up. "What are you doing here? I don't sail for another day."

"I wanted to give you my farewell gift," she said, walking past. "I didn't know how much of a chance to talk we were going to get later."

"Oh." He saw that she held a long object tightly bound in cloth. "You didn't have to get me anything."

She came to a stop in the center of the deck. "I thought you might need this."

She parted the cloth and revealed a sword. It sat in a finely tooled leather scabbard. The dark crossguard twisted down providing protection for its user's hand. It bore his name etched just above the hilt.

"Zelda," he began, "this... this looks expensive. I can't take something so elegant with me." 

"I insist," Zelda said, holding it out.

"But," he said, "it's too extravagant. You must have gone through a lot to have it made, I can't take it."

"Nonsense, you need something with you in case of trouble," said Zelda. "And since—against my better opinion—you won't take the Master Sword, you will need this."

"You know I can't risk taking the Master Sword," he said. "It would be too big of a chance to take. I can't risk not returning it should I fail."

"All the more reason why you need it," Zelda said, holding it out again.

He sighed. "I probably won't even need it...but, I'll keep it in case."

She smiled. "That's all I ask."

~

Link snapped out of his reverie and slipped the sword's baldric over his head, letting it come to a rest over his shoulder. He reached down and picked up the shield leaning against the wall. Threading his arms through its straps, he slipped it onto his back. Walking to the bed, he took the neatly wrapped bundle and slid it in his tunic. Finally, he grabbed his cloak off the foot of the bed and flipped it over his shoulders.

He looked back at Zelda. "I'll be back by tomorrow."

"Link wait." She opened her mouth to continue but didn't. 

He walked up to her. Gazing down at her he said, "I give you my word that I'll be fine." When she glanced down unsure, he tipped her head up with two fingers and met her eyes. "You know I always keep my promises."

"I know," she whispered.

Link bent slightly and lightly kissed her forehead. "Let me close this in my own way. All right?"

She nodded. "Please be safe."

Link took a step back and flipped his hood up. "I will. Good-night, princess."

"Good-bye." 

Without looking back, Link walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hall. He could still feel her eyes on him after he had shut the door.

A young man in the armor of the place guard jumped to attention at the end of the hall.

Link called the soldier over. 

He quickly ran the boy through his impressive memory for faces. By the time the guard's boots snapped together and his hand went to his heart in a perfect salute Link knew him.

"Are you on for the rest of the night?" Link asked returning the salute halfheartedly.

"Yes, sir!"

Link fought the urge to roll his eyes at the boy's enthusiasm. "I want you to wait a few minutes then go in there and see if Zelda needs anything. She'll say no, but suggest her going out to her garden for a while. There isn't a full moon tonight, but if you tell her that the weather is quite nice and there's a breeze out, she should go."

The young guard looked confused and said, "But, sir?"

Link frowned. "Yes?"

"Well, sir, shouldn't the Princess get as much sleep as possible?"

"That's not going to happen anyway," Link said, irritation creeping into his voice. "That is one of the main reasons why I didn't want her knowing about this until morning. At least in her garden, she'll be as relaxed as possible."

The guard nodded. "Then I'll see to it, sir."

Link glanced over his shoulder at the door then back to the guard. "Keep her safe for me, Warren. Promise me you will."

"I swear it, sir," the guard said, raising his head proudly. "I will die before letting any harm touch the Princess."

Link clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man."

~

Walking across the grounds, Link spotted the dark colored stallion waiting for him. He greeted the horse with friendly ear scratching. The horse neighed and leaned into his hand.

To help cure the boredom of his 'recovery' he had spent a lot of time in the stables with the horses. In that time, he had grown to know and befriend nearly all of Zelda's stable population.

"Look's like Niven eager to be off," a voice said behind him.

Link turned. "Glenn? Did I wake all of Hyrule by deciding to ride tonight?"

"'Bout that it seems," General Glenn Tarmag, Captain of the Hylian Guard, said striding up. "Everyone wants to wish ya off."

Link turned back to Niven and checked the saddle's girdle. "Aren't they going to be disappointed when I come back tomorrow."

"I don't think they are going to be disappointed," Glenn said. "Relieved maybe, but not disappointed."

Satisfied, Link straightened and checked the saddlebags for his gear. "Thanks, old friend. Be sure to pass that on to the staff."

"I will." Glenn glanced at the ground for a second then continued. "Got all that ya need?"

"I think so." Link sealed the bags again and turned to face his friend. "Keep an eye on Zelda for me. I think she might be taking this harder than I thought she would."

"I will," Glenn said, and then stuck his hand out. "Good luck. May ya find what you're looking for."

Link took the general's hand and shook it. "Thank you. I know I will."

He released Glenn's hand and then, with a foot in the stirrup, swung his leg around Niven's rump seating himself in the saddle.

Link took up the reins. "Farewell, my friend."

Glenn nodded. "Farewell." 

Link wheeled Niven around and kicked his heels in casting the stallion into a gallop.

The courtyard flashed by in a blur. As he drew closer to the gate, he saw the watchmen standing by their posts waving.

Riding past, Link snapped off a salute towards the guards. 

Niven's hooves pounded over the drawbridge. And then, he was free of the palace.

Smiling to himself, Link leaned down in the saddle feeling the powerful animal beneath him run. Heedless of the dim light, he urged the horse to move faster. Cool wind blew in his face and pushed his hood back. For the first time in nearly a year, Link felt free again.

Using a slight pull on the reins, he guided Niven down the paths that would take them to their destination.

With only starlight and the dim cast of the half moon to see by, Link traveled across Hyrule Field.

Familiar hills and hollows that he had missed so much opened before him. The early season had already begun to change the leaves from a plain green to a rainbow of reds, yellows, and browns.

As the hours passed, Link could feel his destination drawing closer. He could also feel the memories of the last time he traveled these roads floating up.

~

__

When the fishing boat that had picked him up reached shore, Link found himself in a small village named Southport. The men that had found him took him to their home and tried their best to make him comfortable. But already the effects of being adrift for so long were beginning to show; he was slipping in and out of consciousness, his fever was running so high the town's healer was sure he wouldn't live to see the next day, and his mind was plagued with doubt. 

The doubt was the worst of all, for he could no longer be sure of the things he saw and did on the inland that never was. In his waking moments, he would see the people he had been with standing in his room. And in his dreams, he would be on the inland. The dreams came with such vivid clarity, he was beginning to think his sickroom was the dream and the inland was real.

In many ways, he wished that was actually so.

"Link you must stop this," a voice said during one of his aware moments. "You must get well."

He opened his eyes to see Marin sitting on his bed. "What?"

"You must end this," she said, leaning down to stroke his cheek.

"I don't know how," he said, wishing he had the strength to touch her.

"Yes, you do, my love."

"No." He tried to sit up but couldn't. "Please tell me."

She shook her head, her hair swinging slightly. "I can not. It is inside you. You must find it."

"I don't think I can."

"Yes, you can," she assured him.

The next thing he knew, he was awake in bed. Marin had vanished.

Fighting the urge to surrender to the pull of dreams, he then had the men who found him hire a cart with what money he had left to take him back to Hyrule. 

He traveled the same roads as he did now in the back of a wagon. He had little sense of time. Sometimes he would slip back into consciousness to find it was deep into the night, other times he would awaken and see such a colored sky that he could only guess as to whether it was dawn or dusk.

Finally, he came awake to feel a soft bed under him. He had reached the palace. Healers came and told him that he would get well, but it would take time. They saw that he ate plenty of fruit—they said his body was in need of their fluids.

Sometimes he would find Zelda sitting in his room. When she did, he would try not to let her know he saw her; he didn't want her asking questions yet.

As he grew steadily better, he began to talk more. Zelda never asked about the names he knew he must have called out in his sleep, she would tell him that whatever had happened didn't matter as long as he was well.

"Zelda," he said, after a daily stretch routine to work limbs that had been in bed too long, "I'm ready to tell you now."

She moved from her usual chair to sit on the edge of his bed. "Tell me what?"

"About what happened to me."

She shook her head. "That doesn't matter to me."

"It matters to me," he told her.

He took a deep breath and began, "Her name was, Marin..."

~

Link pulled his horse to a stop in the center of the crossroads and considered the wooden sign ahead of him.

Southport – Right

Great Hyrulean Sea – Left

"My own way," he muttered reading the sign.

He checked the bundle in his tunic making sure the night of hard riding hadn't damage it. Common sense would have dictated buying one in Southport, but whatever sense drove him to do this also told him that he must bring it from his homeland.

Link clicked his tongue urging Niven on again, down the left path.

He led the stallion carefully down the rock-strewn path. Slowly, the salty, brisk air of the sea touched his skin and the crash of waves against the beach found his ears.

Behind him, the dark purple sky of the night was quickly reseeding as the dawn began to make itself known. Above him, seagulls circled over head searching for breakfast.

Bringing Niven to a halt at the edge of the beach, Link considered the sea in front of him. At one time, he would have laughed if anyone had told him there was water that extended past the horizon. He smiled slightly, now years later, he was one of the few who could honestly say he both saw it and sailed it.

He suddenly wished a piece of _Hyrule's Beauty_ had survived the wreck. That little ship had taken him farther than he ever believed possible.

'I guess I must say good-bye to the _Beauty_ as well,' Link thought ruefully.

Swinging his leg around Niven, Link dropped to the ground. He threw the reins over the saddle and gave the horse a pat on the neck. "Don't stray far," he told the horse, "I'll be back soon."

Turning, Link began making his way down the beach. Waves washed up over the shore leaving trails in the form of wet sand.

Link stood at the edge of the wet trails, pondering what to do next. In his heart, he knew what must be done, but his head didn't know the proper form in which to do it.

He reached in to his tunic and withdrew the bundle. Holding it above his head, he prepared to throw it to the sea.

Above him the seagulls cawed.

"_No_," the wind seemed to whisper, "_not that way_."

Link lowered the bundle and then gently pulled on the ribbon that held the cloth together.

The sun crowned the horizon. Rays of red-yellow light reached out brushing the world with warmth.

The cloth parted and fell away revealing a single rose. Link held the rose gently in his hands watching as the light of the rising sun darkened the shade of yellow on its pedals.

He took a step forward. Water sloshed over his boots soaking the hem of his cloak. He walked until the water climbed past his knees.

"This is the part I've feared," Link said, bowing his head. "I'm not quite sure what to say. Good-bye doesn't seem enough and I don't think I have a long speech in me.

"I...I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry that I had to do what I did," he said. "If there had been another way...a better way...I would have taken it. I want you to know that.

"A wise woman once told me that all friends and lovers we ever know are just like dreams. We grasp for them and the tighter we try and hold on the farther they slip away. But if we relax and let them come in their own time, we will be rewarded with sweet glances of the things we had forgotten." He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "I doubt you can even hear me, but if you can, know that I'll never forget you. You offered me the place I've always wanted but never could have. Thank you for giving me a short time in your paradise."

Link brought the rose to his lips and kissed the pedals. "Good-bye, Marin."

With a swift flick of his wrist, he threw the flower to the sea. He briefly watched the rose as it climbed and fell along the rolling waves. Then, turned slowly and made his way back to the beach.

He didn't look back. He didn't have to; the rose was no longer his.

Link walked back to where Niven waited faithfully. Without words, he mounted up and turned the stallion around back the way they came.

He passed the sign pointing toward Hyrule without glancing at it. He was returning home free of his doubt and...of his dreams.

End.


End file.
